Indeed, Dotcom won a patent in 2000, which “relates to a method and to a device for the authorization in data transmission systems employing a transaction authorization number (TAN) or a comparable password.”

Plenty of other companies, including EMC’s security arm, RSA, have been granted patents in the two-factor space. But Dotcom took a bold step today and threatened to sue companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Google that employ two-factor.

If the U.S. government is to be believed, Dotcom’s allegations are riddled with irony.

Dotcom, who is living in New Zealand, is accused of running Megaupload, the popular file-sharing site that was shuttered last year in a scheme the Justice Department said was “among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States.” The government said the site facilitated copyright infringement of movies “often before their theatrical release, music, television programs, electronic books, and business and entertainment software on a massive scale.”

The government said Megaupload’s “estimated harm” to copyright holders was “well in excess of $500 million.”

Dotcom claims he is innocent and he is fighting extradition to the United States. He wants the companies he thinks are stealing the rights of two-factor to help pay for his defense, as tens of millions of dollars of his assets have been seized by federal authorities.

“I never sued them. I believe in sharing knowledge & ideas for the good of society. But I might sue them now cause of what the U.S. did to me,” he said.

Twitter’s two-factor method is similar to how other sites practice it. For example, if a Twitter user has elected to use two-factor, whenever that account holder signs into Twitter on an unknown device or new app, they’ll receive a text message with a six-digit code. That code must be entered to log in.

Dotcom added on his Twitter feed that: “I’m an innovator, not a criminal.”

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